Ever seen a lost goat? When a goat thinks it is lost, it runs around in a panic, screaming madly for the herd. I've seen goats step around the barn, lose line of sight on the other goats, and run around like this for fifteen minutes before figuring out the herd is only a few feet away. The herd ignores the panicked goat entirely, unless the lost goat is young enough for its mama to care. As a lost goat, where better to find other goats than on the seemingly endless plain of the blogosphere?

A smart government would realize that, no matter where the line is drawn, there is going to be a drop in stock prices once the market (e.g., people who buy and sell stocks, either for themselves or for other people) realizes that the government won't bail out every company in the world that wraps itself in an American flag and stamps "God Bless the USA" on its ass. Therefore, now is the time to draw the line, pull back from the earlier bailout mistakes as best as possible, and wait for the market to stabilize itself. As a bonus, nobody over there has to get re-elected for another two years, so the October urgency to "do anything that looks like I am doing something to the guys at home" is gone.

Have you looked at who we have on the hill lately? My guess is that we can expect a lot of our money to get funneled to big corporations for the foreseeable future. But I really, really, hope that I am wrong.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

I sent letters to all my congresspeople last time bailouts were proposed, to no particular avail. Now I am going to do it again - Hope triumphs over experience!

The Campaign for Liberty people sent some suggested letters to your senators, one for Republicans and one for Democrats. I modded them up a bit for sending off. Here in Louisiana, we've got one of each, and they both voted against the original bailout. I thought they should get some props for that, so I included that in my letters.

First, I would like to thank you for your opposition to the $700 billion bailout package in October.I deeply appreciated that you voted against using taxpayer dollars to prop up poorly run financial institutions.Unfortunately, however, it appears that Congress is contemplating throwing more of our good money after bad management.

I am writing you today to urge you to oppose any bailout of the auto industry, whether by taking existing funds from TARP, revising any previous loans, or making new grants.

The auto industry is lobbying hard for taxpayer money when they should be entirely focused on restructuring their companies and figuring out how to make a profit.

There is no guarantee that a government handout will have any positive effect. Since a bailout will only delay the economic consequences of the Big 3's current predicaments, Congress should allow the market to work so that the fallout can be dealt with and overcome as quickly as possible.

I suggest that you work to:

1.) Curb regulation: The auto industry is already one of the most heavily-regulated industries, and a bailout will bring more government regulation and additional costs. Alleviating even a little of the red tape would free up resources for them to address their financial situations, save jobs, and produce quality products to jump-start sales.

2.) Cut taxes: Cutting corporate and capital gains taxes would give these companies immediate funds to put toward their problems. Cutting individual income taxes would return much needed money to workers and consumers, strengthening their financial positions and purchasing power during these turbulent times.

Additionally, because the Paulson TARP plan has abandoned its originally stated purpose of buying toxic assets, is not holding up its promises to be transparent, and has not been properly accountable to Congress, no further expenditures should be authorized until the Treasury Department presents a full accounting to Congress of how it has already dispersed TARP funds.

Since the election, Republicans have talked of returning to their limited government message. This is a chance for you to prove your commitment to free market capitalism and the freedom philosophy by demonstrating that the Republican Party will be worthy of our trust in the next Congress. A vote for another bailout will send the signal that, despite any lip-service paid to limited government principles, Republican talking points of defending them are cheap and little more than campaign rhetoric.

The answers to our economic problems cannot be found in further government intervention. As your constituent, I urge you not to put my tax dollars on the line and to vote "no" on the auto industry bailout.

First, I would like to thank you for your opposition to the $700 billion bailout package in October.I deeply appreciated that you voted against using taxpayer dollars to prop up poorly run financial institutions.Unfortunately, however, it appears that Congress is contemplating throwing more of our good money after bad management.

I am writing you today to urge you to oppose any bailout of the auto industry, whether by taking existing funds from TARP, revising any previous loans, or making new grants.

The auto industry is lobbying hard for taxpayer money when they should be entirely focused on restructuring their companies and figuring out how to make a profit. There is no guarantee that a government handout will have any positive effect, and that GM, Ford, and Chrysler will not be back in a few months asking for additional billions.

Since a bailout will only delay the economic consequences of the Big 3's current predicaments, Congress should allow the market to work so that the fallout can be dealt with and overcome as quickly as possible.

Instead of handing out more of the taxpayers' money and moving further away from the free market ideas that made America great, I ask you to:

1.) Curb regulation: The auto industry is already one of the most heavily-regulated industries, and a bailout will bring more government regulation and additional costs. Alleviating even a little of the red tape would free up resources for them to address their financial situations, save jobs, and produce quality products to jumpstart sales.

2.) Cut taxes: Cutting corporate and capital gains taxes would give these companies immediate funds to put toward their problems. Cutting individual income taxes would return much needed money to workers and consumers, strengthening their financial positions and purchasing power during these turbulent times.

Taking just these two steps will save the industry far more in the long run than the numbers currently being proposed for the bailout.

Additionally, because the Paulson TARP plan has abandoned its originally stated purpose of buying toxic assets, is not holding up its promises to be transparent, and has not been properly accountable to Congress, no further expenditures should be authorized until the Treasury Department presents a full accounting to Congress of how it has already dispersed TARP funds.

The answers to our economic problems cannot be found in further government intervention. As your constituent, I urge you not to put my tax dollars on the line and to vote "no" on the auto industry bailout.